State aid will buy flood-prone properties

Sunday

Mar 1, 2009 at 12:01 AMMar 1, 2009 at 11:03 AM

FINDLAY, Ohio -- A group looking for ways to prevent another serious flood in northwestern Ohio said it will use $3 million in state aid to buy homes and land along the Blanchard River in two hard-hit towns.

FINDLAY, Ohio -- A group looking for ways to prevent another serious flood in northwestern Ohio said it will use $3 million in state aid to buy homes and land along the Blanchard River in two hard-hit towns.

Buying the low-lying properties in Findlay and Ottawa will provide space for flood walls, green space and riverbank restructuring, according to the Northwest Ohio Flood Mitigation Partnership.

The group said the state is expected to release the money next month.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is studying the area and will decide how to make attempts at reducing river flooding.

Buying properties will be a first sign of progress, said Leigh Esper, administrative assistant for the flood mitigation group. "We want to show people that, hey, something is being done," Esper said.

The first buildings are expected to come down this summer, he said.

In the past year and a half, flooding along the Blanchard River has forced hundreds of people out of their homes.

The river running through downtown Findlay has topped flood levels 10 times in the past two years.

The $3 million from the state will not be enough to buy every property if the owners agree to sell, Esper said.

Tony Iriti, head of the partnership, has said that city and county leaders need $50 million to cover their share of the costs of new levees, flood walls and other measures to reduce flooding.